Michigan has 110 defendants waiting for competency treatment as a state facility runs short of space, newspaper investigation finds
The Associated Press item summarizes a newspaper investigation into why Michigan's competency cases drag: the state's forensic psychiatric facility does not have room for everyone ordered into treatment. A roster the health department supplied to MLive in November counted 110 defendants in line, with typical waits running three to four months.
Department officials told the paper they are addressing the backlog. They put $7 million into 34 additional beds at the Center for Forensic Psychiatry last year, and a spokeswoman said the agency is assisting regional hospitals in training clinicians so evaluations and restoration treatment can be done more efficiently.
She added that clinicians may start screening defendants to identify who most needs hospital care, which would help manage the queue as well as expand capacity.
Source: Competency cases move through Michigan court system slowly — WNMU-FM (Associated Press), by Associated Press
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